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297 - The Natural Balance

Author: Sakiah Zee
last update publish date: 2025-11-13 09:11:11

ARAH

The way the hunter said those last words sent a cold ripple down her spine.

This wasn’t like the others—those who fought her to claim her power, or simply saw her as an enemy to eliminate.

The hunter wanted her judged. Condemned. Erased. And somehow, that felt worse. Like she was already doomed before she’d even been given a chance.

She’d heard about how hunters were terrifying, but she’d probably still underestimated them. Her heart was pounding so violently, she knew he could hear every
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  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   355 - Extensions Of Herself

    ARAHEENShe remembered General Markaus’s face just before everything went black. This memory pulled her back to what Kohina had said before—that the Vulkar’s Rod would allow Araheen to see him.Clearly, the general had been there.Right outside the Grand Castle.Her frown deepened, confusion crossing her face. “You didn’t know about that alliance?”“We had no idea, Araheen,” Kohina said truthfully. “General Markaus’s seer, Tesira, told me about it back at the tower. I don’t approve of it, and I know Gildeon wouldn’t either. I escaped before they could contain me, once they realized I wouldn’t cooperate.” She drew a breath. “Believe me, we were not informed.”Araheen stared at the dry ground. “Why would your general ally with Zephyr?”“Because Zephyr swore to leave us alone.” Gildeon slowly pushed him

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   354 - Two Fools Trying To Win A War

    ARAHEENConsciousness returned in fragments. A dull ringing filled her ears, as if something had shattered inside her skull. Her body felt heavy, as though she had been struck by something massive and left buried beneath it.What had happened? Memories flashed through her mind—her running back to the castle, aiming for the war command chamber. The heat. The fire. The explosion. Her brooch vibrating, cracking—a surge of protective power enveloping her as the shockwave hurled her away.Araheen tried to move. Nothing responded. Her muscles were weak, and her arms were bound behind her, aching with a deep, numbing strain. Her head lolled to the side, curls falling across her face, her vision blurred and swimming.For a moment, she stayed like that, breathing shallowly, waiting for the haze to clear. When it did, Kohina’s face came into view. She was sitting in front of her.“You’re finally awake,” th

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   353 - Can't Win This War Alone

    GILDEONHe shifted mid-descent, scales folding away as he took on his dragon-mortal form. By the time he hit the ground near his comrades—who were finishing off the remaining sylphs—he had already returned to his true mortal state.His eyes found Araheen immediately.He moved quickly, barely registering General Markaus nearby as he lifted her from the rubble and laid her on clear ground. His heart hammered as he dropped beside her, scanning for injuries.Nothing critical.Relief settled in, even with her unconscious.His head snapped up, searching for his lieutenants through the chaos.“What happened?” he demanded sharply, his gaze cutting toward Yadira and Eitan. “I told you to get her out of here.”“We tried, Captain,” Eitan said, raking his claws across the throat of a sylph he was engaged with. “But she ran back into the castle.”“I th

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   352 - Welcome Back

    NARRATORIn the Crescent Tower…At the distant explosion, Garud snapped upright within her enclosure, and the chains binding her groaned under the sudden strain.She went still.Her amber eyes flared, then bled into a deep, luminous indigo.Something else had taken hold.Suddenly, she slammed her head into the nearest already-fragile column. A second impact followed, her body driving into the wall of the chamber. The sigils carved across its surface flared violently, their light surging as they fought to contain her.Garud shrieked, and she struck again.And again.Each impact sent more fractures racing through the stone. Chunks broke loose, crashing to the floor in a cascade of debris. The sigils flickered erratically, their glow stuttering as lines of power fractured and split. Some shattered entirely—symbols breaking apart and dimming to nothing, their magic extinguished.

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   351 - You Are That Sigilmaker

    NARRATORIn the Grand Castle…Looming over the castle, the Dragon parted its jaws. A torrent of fire surged forth, pouring straight into the open Great Hall. The blaze roared like a living force, swallowing the space in a violent flood of heat and light.The sigils carved into the walls ignited at once, flaring with a steady glow. Their magic held firm, shielding the structure and the sylphs within from the worst of the flames. But the inferno spilled downward, reaching the war command chamber below.The two scholars stationed there exchanged puzzled glances. The heat did not touch them, held at bay by the chamber’s protections, yet something else had stirred. Drawn by it, they stepped closer to the five Vulkar’s Rod relics.Thin cracks spidered across the hardened shells, leaking threads of molten light. The air around the fragments shimmered, as if reality itself were warping under the pressure building within.

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   350 - Dragon's Fire

    ARAHEEN“Open the roof,” her father commanded.At once, the guards moved.Mechanisms groaned to life as hidden latches disengaged. The domed ceiling of the Great Hall split along its seams, metal segments sliding apart in smooth arcs. One by one, the panels folded outward like unfolding petals, until the ceiling gave way to the night.A vast, starless sky opened above them.While the structure shifted, Araheen descended from the stage—quick, but measured, careful not to draw attention.“Father—”But Lothair had already moved, drifting beyond her reach.Her focus snapped instead to Gildeon, who was watching the opening above.“You’re not seriously going to shift here, are you?” she said under her breath.He lowered his gaze to meet hers and gave a slight shrug. “I’m a prisoner,” he said. “I don&rsq

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   322 - Your Suffering Ends

    ARAHEENNot long after, General Lothair dismissed her. Though she would have preferred to discuss further war strategies, she knew better than to occupy her father’s time longer than necessary.As she stepped back into the High Council chamber, the red humming

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-04-05

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   332 - You May Call Us Barbarians

    ARAHEENShe had not been informed of this.The High Council intended to keep some of the salamanders alive? For what purpose? Enslaving them would bring the sylphs no real advantage, and she could not imagine the Shining Keeper altering the parameters of the Divine

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-04-05

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   16 - His to Claim

    GILDEONHe trudged up the narrow dirt trail, eyes locked on the abandoned farmhouse behind the broken wooden fence. It was laughable how people spun stories about this place, scaring the shit out of themselves. Haunted, they said. The rumor was that the old woman who died here had cursed the land—any

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17

  • MAD END'S DECEPTION   6 - On Your Knees

    ARAHUnable to get back to sleep, she climbed out of bed and stepped out of her room. Barky’s ear perked up, but he stayed snoozing on his cushion. She was about to head to the kitchen when her gaze flickered toward the window. Gildeon’s car was missing from the driveway. Had he left? Where could he

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-17
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